The Scotts
by dvmcas1
Summary: Lucas and Nathan are enemies and brothers. They both discover that they have superpowers and at first battle each other but then Dan's evil ways cause the brothers to join forces to overcome him. ON HOLD FOR RIGHT NOW
1. Chapter 1

The Scotts

The Scotts

Chapter 1(Lucas)

Lucas Scott woke up on November 14, 2005 the same way he always had. The same way he had on the thirteenth, the twelfth, and even the eleventh….a normal sixteen year old. The blaring alarm clock disturbed his dream that had been filled with a Peyton Sawyer declaring her love for him. Just a dream. Lucas rubbed his eyes and stumbled out of bed, smacking the top of his alarm clock to shut it up. He rubbed his head as he walked down the hallway and into the bathroom. He shoved the door shut and stared blinkingly at the face in the mirror.

"Lucas? You up?" His mom, Karen, yelled from down the hall.

"I'm up!" He yelled back. Lucas rubbed his chin and cheeks, wishing just for once that he'd have to shave. His messy light brown hair was sticking up everywhere until Lucas slathered a little bit of gel on it. Now it was still sticking up everywhere but this time it looked like Lucas had meant it to. Lucas had just taken a leak and washed his face when he heard shouting from the other side of the door.

"Come on perv! We're going to be late for the first day of school! Can't sit in the bathroom all day with the water running. We all know what you're doing in there!"

Haley. Lucas shook his head. Even though he loved her to death, no one could deny that she was very outspoken. They had met the first day of kindergarten when Haley had come running up to him. She had pushed him down, then told him that he was going to be her friend or else. They'd hung out through thick and thin ever since. She was like his sister.

More pounding on the door forced Lucas to cut short brushing his teeth and sling it open. There was Haley standing there with her hands on her hips.

"God! Going for a record? You're going to make some girl very happy."

Lucas sidled forward, put his hand on her shoulder, and said, "Don't worry Hales I'm saving it all for you."

"Ugh!" She ducked under his hand and slapped him on the shoulder. He busted out laughing as she pretended to throw up in the hallway.

Karen poked her head from around the corner of the kitchen and shouted up the hallway, "It's twenty til' eight you two!"

Luke ducked into his room to grab his backpack and change. He was probably out in about two seconds but Haley was fuming with impatience. As they walked out the front door she was ranting.

"I find it soooooo hard to believe that me, a girl, can get ready, look amazing might I add, walk over your house, and still have to wait on you…the guy."

"You know my looks are all I have going for me, Hales. I gotta look good."

"Oh Luke, if that's true, I feel so sorry for you." Luke burst out laughing and shoved her gently off the sidewalk.

They got to Tree Hill High just as the final bell was ringing. With a quick "bye" thrown over her shoulder Haley took off down the hall to her first period. Luke ducked into his English class just as his name was being called.

"

Lucas Scott."

He raised his hand, "Here."

"Nathan Scott." It was then that Luke realized. He was in the same class as….

"Nathan Scott." The teacher looked around the class with confusion. He settled on Lucas. "Is your brother coming?"

"He's not my brother,"Nathan said as he breezed through the door with Peyton in tag just as the teacher spoke. He scowled at Lucas as if it was somehow his fault. Lucas' gut clenched at the sight of his half brother. Nathan and Peyton sat down next to each other at the back of the classroom. They were only a row back from Lucas because those had been the only seats left. Nathan's cold stare burned into Lucas' back as the teacher went on with the role. Lucas didn't hear any of it. There was a roar in his ears that was drowning out anything else. Nathan was in the same class as him. Sure Lucas had seen him around from time to time in the hallway during ninth grade but it had always been from down the hall or out of the corner of his eye. Now, horribly, they were going to see each other everyday for an hour and thirty minutes. Lucas would have to look into his smug face and be reminded of how he was the unwanted son.

A piece of paper was going around the classroom and everyone was signing it. The teacher was still droning on while writing his name up on the board. Mr. Garret. Lucas didn't care. He recalled the hurt look that his mom got whenever she heard anyone mention Dan Scott. She tried to hide it but Lucas knew it was there underneath the fake smiles and the turned away glances. Lucas also recalled how it felt every Christmas, birthday, or Father's Day that Dan hadn't been there. How when he was young he'd wondered what he had done to deserve no father. Karen was a great mom and he knew she loved him to death but sometimes Lucas wondered what it'd be like to shake his dad's hand or to have him as a coach for little league. Stupid little wishes that were never going to come true. Dan had made his choice, it was Nathan. Deb, Nathan's mom, obviously had something more than Karen because Dan had chosen her just like Nathan obviously had more than Lucas.

A finger tapping his back brought Lucas out of his revere. He turned, looking right into the beautiful face of an annoyed Peyton Sawyer. She must have seen something in his eyes because her gaze softened. It was only a few seconds of a moment but Lucas savored it. Her green eyes pierced his as if she saw into his pain and around it. Like she could make it better somehow. Nathan cleared his throat and like magic the moment was gone. The sardonic look was back in Peyton's eyes and she thrust the sheet of paper at him. Reluctantly Lucas turned back around and signed the seating chart before passing it on. Mr. Garrett was turned around writing out a syllabus on the board. Something struck Lucas on the back of his head. He turned, surprised. A crumpled up ball of paper was on the floor. He heard Tim, Nathan's friend, choke with laughter and knew suddenly where it had come from. Lucas dragged his gaze over to Nathan forcing himself to look into his eyes. Nothing but supreme confidence and scorn. Nathan mouthed a word and Lucas turned back to stare at his desk. Shame filling him as embarrassment reddened his ears. _Bastard_. This year was going to suck.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2(Nathan)

Chapter 2(Nathan)

Nathan strode out of his first period class, glad to get away from the bastard. Lucas looked at him as if Nathan owed him something. It wasn't Nathan's fault that Dan had preferred Deb over Karen. He couldn't believe that guy was his half-brother. If Lucas were even kinda cool that'd be something but the kid was a zombie. He always wore fairly pathetic clothes, sat quietly in class, read a book in his spare time, or hung out with that girl that always wore weird clothes.

Nathan had watched them together at lunch a lot. She would wear this knitted poncho thing that was hideous, but Lucas still liked to be around her. Nathan figured that Lucas liked her and that they were dating because they were always together. For some odd reason that sparked a little thread of annoyance in him that he couldn't explain. Some times when he was dreaming of Peyton she would flash into that chick for a second and double the excitement would flash through Nathan.

Peyton trotted up next to Nathan in the hallway and grabbed his hand. Nathan snapped out of his revere and squeezed her hand back. She looked up at him, her green eyes flashing with anger, like always, "What, were you just going to leave me behind. You ran out of that classroom. I had to grab my stuff and sprint out here to get you, thinking you'd be waiting for me, but you were just walking down the hall."

Nathan sighed, "Peyton I don't need this right now." He kept walking but she stopped, pulling on his hand. He stopped and turned, exasperated.

"Like I do Nathan? God you are so self-centered!"

"Well I hate to break it to you but that's how life is. People suck sometimes."

"Well you suck almost all the time and that's not fair to me Nathan.

Nathan looked over her shoulder and saw Lucas. He was watching like he was happy to see them fighting. Normally Nathan would have gone up and yelled at the punk but then that girl walked up to Lucas. She greeted him with a hug that only brought out a small spark of anger in Nathan. Then she looked at him and Peyton fighting in the middle of the hallway. Peyton was still yapping on about how mean he was and blah blah….but Nathan's eyes locked with the other girl. She looked at him with such pity. No one ever looked at him like that. He was Nathan Scott he had everything, except other people's pity. Her eyes seemed to bore into him until he felt he was lost in their brown depths. Peyton stopped in mid-shout and turned to see who he was looking at.

"Nathan! Are you even listening?"

Startled from the girl's eyes Nathan looked down at Peyton. God, how had they come to this. He was fantasizing about some random pathetic girl and she was always mad at him.

"I'm sorry Peyton. Look, I'm really sorry. Can I just walk you to your next class? The bell is about to ring. I didn't mean to leave you in first period, its just I had to get away from Lucas ok. I don't like seeing him."

Peyton seemed to deflate and her eyes softened. She sighed and walked up to him, linking her arm with his and they continued walking. She nestled against his side, feeling so soft and so good. Then why was it he could still feel the girl's eyes on him.

Nathan shrugged. It didn't matter if that other girl had some sort of weird hold on him. Peyton was willing most of the time and she was practically the hottest girl in school. Aside from Brooke her best friend. She was pretty hot too. Nathan had tapped that once at a party when he and Peyton had been fighting but Peyton definitely didn't know about that.

He walked with Peyton to her second period. They stopped in the doorway, even though she was already almost late. She looked up at him, her green eyes glowing.

"Nathan, the fighting has to stop. I know that you can be a better guy than you are. I'm just getting tired of waiting around while you try to figure that out."

With that she turned and walked into her class. Nathan turned and walked to his too. He walked into the class across the hall from Peyton's. He scanned the room really quick and didn't see Lucas. He let out a sigh of relief as he sunk into a desk in the middle. Maybe today was looking up. Then he felt it. A tingling in the back of his neck. Nathan turned around. Sure enough, there was the girl. Sitting right behind him. She smelled incredibly good. She was still looking at Nathan with pity. He smiled at her against his will. His smile was met with a scowl as she rolled her eyes and looked down at her paper.

The teacher was calling the role. At least this time there was no chance he'd mistake anyone in the class for Nathan's brother.

"Haley James?"

"Here." Her voice echoed in his ears from behind. God, even her voice was intoxicating. Nathan was in big trouble. Yep, this year was going to suck


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3(Lucas)

Chapter 3(Lucas)

Lucas walked into the café that his mom owned and slumped down at the counter. Karen came walking out of the back and looked at her son.

"How was your first day? Tough?" Lucas lifted his head enough to look at her.

"Nathan is in my first period."

"Oh I'm sorry sweetie. Did anything happen?"

"No, but him just being there is bad enough."

Karen reached into the display case of cookies on the counter and handed Lucas a chocolate chip one, his favorite. He looked up at her with gratitude and took a huge bite.

Karen smiled, "I remember when you were little all it would take was a cookie to cheer you up."

"It still helps, Ma." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I'm going to go home ok? I got some homework. Or do you need help here?"

"Well Haley is supposed to come in after school, so I think we'll be fine."

"Ok. See you tonight."

Luke left the café but instead of going straight home and working on his paper he swung by the River Court first. The combination of the chocolate chip cookie and basketball would for sure make his problems disappear.

Most of the guys were already there. Skills, Fergie, and Junk usually gravitated there right after school and stayed there long after it got dark. Mouth was sitting on the bleachers holding his microphone and doing sound checks.

"Yo, Luke!"

Skills trotted up to him and pounded his fist.

"Hey guys. I had a rough day at school so I figured that beating the crap out you guys would make me feel better."

On cue everyone started protesting that he was the best and Luke knew it was headed to a fierce game of make-it, take-it. He paired up with Fergie and they began.

Skills was really good so it was always hard to face up against him but Fergie was great at feeding Luke the ball, and that's all he needed. Shot after shot sank into the basket with Mouth excitedly recording every move and adding his own comments.

"Oh! A massive three-pointer for team Scott. He's on fire today ladies and gentlemen. And here we are at the game point. Everyone's on the edge of their seat to see if Scott can do it!"

Luke shook his head. Fergie passed him the ball but there was Skills blocking him from the basket. Luke pulled a cross-over and faked Skills out. He ran the few steps to the hole in what seemed to him like double time and leaped. Lucas was never a very good dunker because he had trouble getting high enough to stuff it but this time he easily leapt up and slammed the ball home.

Everyone, even the losing team erupting in choruses of "Oooooooh." Luke looked up at the basket confused. Where had that come from?

Skills ran up to him and patted him on the back.

"Luke brother that was the shit! One minute you were there then…bam! You faked me and stuffed that!"

Lucas was still looking up at the basket. His brow furrowed and uneasily he said, "Yeah, it was awesome."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4(Nathan)

Chapter 4(Nathan)

Nathan slumped into his seat in first period, doing his best to ignore Lucas. After almost no sleep last night he didn't feel like he could deal with all that. The teacher was prattling on and on about the way symbolism was used in the book that they were going to be reading that semester. Well, that all the other kids would be reading. Nathan hated reading and just books in general. He never understood what the other kids seemed to get from books; they didn't make sense to him. He wanted to just rent the movie or something because if the book was any good someone would make it into a movie. The Diary of Anne Frank sounded like it would be a movie, Nathan didn't understand why they were reading some girl's diary in a history class though. He eased even further back in his seat and zoned out. His mind was undressing Peyton when the bell rang and pulled him from the best part of the fantasy.

After giving Peyton a quick kiss he ducked into his second period and immediately felt her eyes on him. There were empty seats this time but he still took the one right in front of her. Haley James, Haley James…her name had been repeating in his head the whole night. It was like a chant that matched the patter of his heart. Every time he'd even come close to falling asleep she would pop into his mind. Alluring, sexy, glaring, needing. She'd been pictured several ways and he wanted them all. He didn't even know why and that's what bothered him.

"Nathan and Haley." The teacher's remark snapped Nathan back to the present.

Nathan raised his head, confused, "What?"

"Weren't you paying attention, Mr. Scott? I guess not. We were discussing the term project. I'm pairing you up with Haley."

Immediately both Nathan and Haley tried to protest at the same time.

"Sir you can't…."

"I don't want to work with…."

The teacher waved his hand, "My assignments are final. Moving on…." He continued calling out names and Nathan's heart did that pattering thing. Work with her? He glanced back at her and she was glaring at him as if the fault lay with him somehow. He didn't want to work with her either… or did he? For some reason it hurt him that she seemed like she'd rather eat shit than be his partner.

After the class ended, Nathan leapt up, determined to fix it. It seemed like Haley had the same idea as they both converged on the teacher who was sitting at his desk.

Nathan placed both his palms on the teacher's desk and leaned forward, "Sir, it's not fair to put me with someone you know I have a problem with working with."

Haley chimed in, "Really sir, Nathan and I don't get along at all and I don't want that to affect the work that's done on the project. I have good grades and I don't want them pulled down just because I can't work with my partner."

The teacher sighed, "Haley, it's because of your good grades that I'm putting you with Nathan. Nathan, I didn't want to say this in front of the class but based on your performance in English last year I think that the two books the project is going to be about are over your head a little. Now Haley is a tutor and has gotten A's in all of her high school English classes. I think that with her help you could improve a great deal."

Nathan leaned forward, "I'll take the bad grade."

The teacher leaned forward too, "Will you? Don't you play basketball? You can't play if you don't have the grades."

Nathan blanched and leaned back. Basketball meant almost everything to him.

Haley was still unshaken though, "Sir, with all do respect I'm going to end up doing this project myself, you know?"

The teacher shook his head, "No you won't, Haley. Nathan, if Haley comes to me and tells me that you're not helping her, not putting forth an effort, I'll give you an F for the project no questions asked. Now if you both will excuse me, my other class is coming in."

Nathan looked up and saw other students shuffling in the door. Haley turned on her heel and marched out, pushing past the stream of people. She was clearly pissed.

"Haley, wait up!" He ran after her and grabbed her arm. She stopped but the hallway was packed with kids. One of them bumped into her, knocking her right into Nathan. He wrapped his arms around her so she wouldn't fall and for an instant he was struck by how good it felt. The shouts and scuffle of the hallway seemed to fade away. She looked up and at him and he looked down at her. Her eyes weren't pissed how they'd been back in the classroom. In fact, they looked….she looked….did she feel it too? As soon as the question reached his mind, Haley looked down and pulled away. It was over. Nathan took her arm and pulled her into a side hallway so that they wouldn't get squashed by the stampeding teenagers.

"What do you want, Nathan?"

"Look I just want to talk this out with you."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just tell the teacher that you aren't doing your work."

"Because, Haley."

"Because, why?"

"Because Haley you just can't!"

"I really can. You're a complete ass. You're mean to Lucas and I can't stand you!"

"Haley, you can't do that because I know you're better than that."

"You don't know me at all!" She turned away from him but he grabbed her again.

"Please, Haley. I need this grade. I'll work with you. I'll help you…" Nathan's thoughts were racing. A bargaining chip, that's what he needed.

"I'll be nice to Lucas. I'll leave him alone. Okay? Help me not fail and I'll treat Lucas better."

Haley looked at him skeptically, "You'll leave him alone? For good?"

"Yes, ok?"

"I don't think I can trust you. Lucas never knows ok? He doesn't ever know about our little deal. If you do one single thing. One thing, Nathan. Then say goodbye to passing English."

With that she turned and stormed away and all Nathan could do was watch her go.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5(Lucas)

Chapter 5(Lucas)

Lucas slung his book bag down and sank into the chair opposite Haley. He started opening his brown paper bag, once again thanking God that he had the same lunch with her. Unfortunately, Nathan had this lunch too. Haley and Luke had scored a table completely across the entire cafeteria from him. So it wasn't too bad. He looked across the table at Haley but she was just staring down at her peanut butter and jelly sandwich, slowly picking at the crusts.

"Haley?"

She seemed almost startled as she looked up. "Oh. Hey."

"Is there something wrong?"

Her eyes met his for just a second before flicking away to stare back at her lunch.

"No, Luke. Everything's fine."

Lucas took his sub out of his bag. Karen always made the best lunches. She'd always put in stuff from the café. Today he had potato chips, a turkey sub, and a piece of chocolate pie.

Luke took a huge bite of his sub and around a mouthful of turkey and bread he said, "Did Nathan say anything to you?" He nodded across the lunchroom to where Nathan and his goons were sitting.

Haley looked up sharply. "No…why would you ask that?"

Luke swallowed, "Because you said he was in your second period, right? I was just wondering."

Haley let out something that sounded like a cough, "No, he didn't say anything."

Lucas nodded and went on happily munching his food. Unaware that Haley was watching Nathan across the crowded cafeteria.

After school Lucas walked to the café. Wondering the whole way what had been wrong with Haley. She'd been really distant the whole day. When he'd asked her if she wanted to go see a movie tonight, Haley had mumbled some lame sounding excuse. If it had been anyone else Luke would have been suspicious, mad even. But this was Haley and she'd never in their whole lives lied to him. She must have just been having an off day.

When he got to the café Lucas was happy to see that Keith's car was outside. If Dan never was a father to Lucas, then Keith was the person to fill that void. He'd been around ever since Luke could remember. Even though he was Dan's brother, he'd obviously not agreed with Dan's choice. Keith had stood by Karen and Lucas, helping, and loving Luke like a father should. When he was younger, Lucas used to even pretend that Karen and Keith were married so that they could be a real family.

The door chimed as he walked into the warm café.

"Hey Luke!" Keith was sitting at a barstool in the front but he slid down off of it so that he could wrap Lucas in a large hug. Lucas pounded Keith on the back and sat down on the stool next to his.

"Luke, I was just trying to talk your mom into shutting this place down tonight and us all going to get pizza like we used to."

Lucas leaned across the counter where Karen was drying some plates. "Are we going to go, mom?"

"I don't think so, honey. You told me that you and Haley were going to make plans and I really shouldn't close down the café."

"Oh yeah. Well, Haley and I aren't going to go out tonight after all."

Keith leaned over and clapped Luke on the back. "Well, then it'll just be a boy's night, unless we can talk your mom into coming."

Karen shook her head, "You two go along. Someone's got to pay the bills around here."

Keith looked at his watch. "Oh jeez, I'd better get back to the shop. Luke, I'll pick you up around seven, ok?"

"Yep, see ya Keith."

After he left, Karen came out from behind the counter and sat down across from Lucas. She slid a cup of coffee at him and he grabbed it. He sipped it, grateful for the caffeine after a long day of school.

"Did you and Haley have a fight?"

"No, we were going to see Attack of the 50ft. Woman but Haley said that she had something else going on. Actually, she seemed kind of weird all day. I'm not sure what's wrong with her."

"Did you try talking to her?"

"Yeah. She seemed to get weird when I asked her about Nathan. I think he might have said something to her and she just knows I'll get mad, so she's not saying anything."

"You think he's making fun of her?"

"If he is I swear to God I'll….." Intense rage filled Luke with the thought of Nathan hurting Haley. He squeezed the coffee cup handle in his fist. A huge crack sounded and intense pain bloomed in Lucas' hand almost simultaneously. Luke heard Karen shout and run behind the counter but it didn't hit him what had happened until she emerged again with the first aid kit. She forced his hand open and in it were the remains of the handle. Little pieces of glass were embedded in his hand.

"Jesus, Lucas!" Karen pulled him back to the sink and ran his hand under warm water, trying to get the shards out. He heard the door chime and Karen shouted, "Watch the floor! We've had a little accident. I'll be right with you."

"Karen? Luke?" Keith came running into the back. "What the hell happened out there? There's glass all over the floor!" He looked at Lucas' hand and exhaled. "Boy that looks bad."

Keith fetched a dish towel to wrap Luke's hand in while Karen took the gauze from the first aid kit.

Karen turned to Keith, "You came back?"

"Yeah, I forgot to get a cup of coffee for the rest of the day. So what happened?"

Lucas looked up, "I don't know. It was weird. I was kind of mad and I squeezed the cup and it just like exploded." He gave a short laugh and nudged Karen, "Guess I don't know my own strength, huh Mom?"

Karen didn't laugh, she only looked at Keith and said, "Do you think we should take Luke to the emergency room?"

Keith looked at Luke, not at his hand, into his eyes. Lucas' eyes widened. He'd never seen that particular look in Keith's eyes before. Calculating and saddened all at the same time. Before Luke could ask him what was wrong he looked away.

"No, Karen I think he'll be fine." His voice sounded sorrowful, almost sick that Luke wasn't hurt.


	6. Chapter 6

First off I want to thank all the people on here that are reading and/or posting reviews  They help me keep writing

First off I want to thank all the people on here that are reading and/or posting reviews  They help me keep writing.

Chapter 6(Nathan)

Nathan Scott was sitting at his kitchen table, tapping impatiently. Where was she? The doorbell rang and he jumped up like he was reaching for a tip. He raced to the door, hoping and for some reason uncontrollably excited. Nathan turned the knob nervously and there she was. Haley. She was wearing worn jeans, a dark green tank top that brought out her eyes and a light brown jacket over it. Her jacket was unzipped and Nathan couldn't help but glance at her figure now that it wasn't hidden by her poncho. Very, very nice.

"Well? Can I come in or are we just going to stand here?"

"Oh yeah. Sure come on in."

Haley slid through the door brushing by Nathan. He relished the feeling of her warm body on his. She walked down the hallway, seeming to give herself her own tour since Nathan was acting comatose.

"Wow Nathan. I'm pretty sure that you could fit my whole house in your living room."

He followed her into the living room and plopped down on one of the sofas. He patted the cushion next to him and was a little disappointed when Haley sat in the chair across from him instead. She scooted it up to the coffee table and started pulling her notebook out of her bag. Nathan sighed; it looked like all she wanted was straight business.

"Hold on a second," he said. Nathan got up and went up to his room to get his book bag. When he got back downstairs Haley had moved over to the sofa instead of sitting in the chair. He grinned and sat down next to her.

"Ok. Here are the books that we're going to read." She pulled out three books that looked like the Bible. Nathan must have looked visibly shocked because she said, "Well at least we'll have a lot of stuff to write our papers about."

"Haley there's no way I could ever read even one of those, let alone three."

"You can and you will. You don't seem dumb Nathan. I see this all the time when I tutor people. They are smart but they just don't try hard enough because it's easier to coast. I think that's what you're doing."

"Or we could go with my theory. I'm just a dumb jock, who's only good for putting a ball through a hoop."

Haley slapped his arm lightly and shook her head, "Nope. No way in hell are we going with that one. We'll start slow. These are called books. Look you can lift up this and there are words inside."

Nathan played along. "Oh my gosh! You mean that lifts up? I always just looked at the cover and thought that was the whole book!"

"Yeah and you know what you can turn each of these individual thingies, they're called pages. P-a-ges. Say it with me."

"P—pages." Nathan stuttered the word out and made Haley laugh. Enjoying this light hearted side of her Nathan moved even closer to her. Their legs were touching and Nathan's hand was right next to hers. At first it seemed that Haley didn't notice.

"You're a great teacher so far," Nathan said. And with that he moved his hand over so his was almost on top of hers. Suddenly seeming uncomfortable Haley got up.

Her voice was getting a little bit of a flush and she sounded nervous. "Umm. I need a drink. Will you get me a drink?"

"Yeah. Of course." Nathan gestured towards the kitchen and she followed him in there. Touching Haley had caused some sort of spark deep in Nathan's gut. It seemed like until that moment, he'd only had illusions of how girls and love should feel. Just touching Haley's pinky had been better than making out with Peyton. He winced at that thought. He was a dick most of the times but jeez that was harsh for even him. Peyton was his girlfriend and she was hot but Haley was….Haley.

He grabbed bottled water out of the fridge for himself and Haley. She sipped at hers quietly but he chugged his down really fast. He needed to cool that spark in his stomach but the water wasn't quenching it.

"Well, we'd better actually get to work." Haley's voice still sounded smaller than usual. She went to leave the kitchen but so did Nathan and they bumped into each other. Haley rocked backwards so Nathan grabbed her arms to steady her. She looked up at him and he looked down at her and just like that, he was frozen. Her eyes seemed to hold all the knowledge in the world but she also didn't look at him like he was a bad guy anymore. The way she was looking at him made him feel as if he was a better person. He felt like he should be a better person if only to deserve that look from her. Nathan's throat felt like it had tightened in the last twenty seconds but he felt like he should say something, anything.

"Haley…..I…" Suddenly Nathan began to hear the song, "They're the Best of Friends" from that kid movie The Fox and the Hound.

_When you're the best of friends,_

_Having so much fun together_

_You're not even aware; you're such an unlikely pair_

_Because you're the best of friends_

What the hell? Haley pulled out of his grasp and raced into the living room.

She pulled her cell phone out of her bag, "Hey…Luke what's up?" Her eyes darted over to Nathan. He winced at the name Lucas but then immediately tensed up when a look of concern took over Haley's face.

"Karen? What happened?" Haley's face crumpled in, a tear escaped her eye, and she gasped in a deep breath. Her cell phone clattered to the floor and Nathan heard a voice. "Haley? Haley?"

Haley suddenly started falling to the floor and Nathan barely made it across the space between them in time to catch her.


	7. Chapter 7

Hi guys/gals

Hi guys/gals! I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to get back with an update. School has been crazy lately. Thanks for the reviews and the reading! This is an incredibly short chapter but I pinky promise I'll post more/longer really really soon.

Chapter 7(Lucas)

Riding with Keith. Going out for pizza. Talking to Keith. Car horn blaring. Smashing. Glass shattering in my face. Pain erupting. Blood rushing. Blackness closing in. Sirens blaring. People shouting. Heart monitor flat lining. Heart stopping. Life ending.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8(Nathan)

Chapter 8(Nathan)

After a few brief moments Haley was able to stand on her own again. She shrugged off Nathan's questions and immediately ran to the front door. She opened it and was out before Nathan could so much as move. He looked down at all the stuff she'd left sprawled on the table. Her book bag was still there and her purse was beside her chair. He'd thought it was some girl rule that they couldn't go anywhere without their purse. Thinking that she'd at least need that he snatched the purse up and ran over to the door. As he opened it to go out she was reaching for the handle to come back in. Tears of frustration were streaming down her face.

"I--I need, to use your phone." The words came out in a gasp and Nathan only wanted to pull her into a hug.

"Yeah, sure that's ok." He put his arm around her shoulder as they went back inside and she leaned into him. He pulled the cordless phone off its hook and handed it to her. She dialed from memory and stood there shifting her weight from foot to foot.

Haley kept murmuring, "Come on, come on," underneath her breath. Nathan heard a voicemail beep and a woman's voice telling Haley to leave her number and a brief message.

"Damn it!" Haley shouted. Nathan stood there shocked. That didn't sound like something that would come out of her mouth.

"Haley, what's wrong? Do you need something?"

"My mom dropped me off here. I don't have a ride and I have to get to the hospital right now!" With that outburst tears started flowing fresh on her cheeks and it looked like at any minute she was going to totally break down. Nathan looked around for his mom's car keys. They were in a little dish on the edge of the counter. He snatched them up and pulled Haley with him to the front door, explaining as he went.

"Haley, I'll drive you to the hospital. It's no big deal."

She just nodded and went outside with him. Nathan opened her door for her and ran around the other side of the car. He jumped in and turned the key so that the SUV roared to life. He reversed quickly out of the driveway and then slammed it into Drive. He pressed on the gas pedal and watched the speedometer creep slowly up to sixty. Nathan glanced over at Haley but she was just sitting there. Nathan knew he was driving way to fast but something about Haley's demeanor seemed to demand it.

He reached over and took her hand, giving it a light squeeze. He didn't know what made him think that he could do that, how he had the right but Haley squeezed back and smiled faintly at him.

"Haley, what happened?" She shook her head and turned away from him, staring out into the black night.

The car was so silent for a second that her voice startled him, "Just hurry, Nathan."

He took her at her word and pressed the pedal down even more. They were going seventy now, in a forty-five zone. Nathan didn't care. The cops could pull him over, write him a hundred tickets, take him to jail, but if he could get that scared look off Haley's face one second sooner then he'd take it all.

They were only a few minutes away from the hospital when Haley spoke again. Her voice was so quiet that Nathan almost thought for a second it was his imagination.

"What if he's not ok?"

Nathan looked over at her. She was biting her bottom lip. "What are you talking about Haley?"

"What if?"

"Haley, I'm not getting it. What if, what?"

"It's Luke, Nathan. That's why we're going. There was a car accident."

Nathan didn't expect the lump of worry that rose in his throat. It didn't feel right. He was worried about Lucas? He hated the guy, he should want him dead. But still, the thought of him hurt worried Nathan.

He squeezed Haley's hand again, "He'll be ok Haley. He's only sixteen. He'll be able to heal ok."

Haley looked over at him, her eyes brimming with liquid pain. "Nathan by the time we get there he may be already dead."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9(Lucas)

Chapter 9(Lucas)

Hearing voices. Doctors arguing. Blood spurting. Machines humming. Nurses running. Lungs failing. Sounds dimming. Paddles shocking. Limp body jerking. Electricity flowing. Bright lights shining. Spirit leaving. Doctors sighing. Nurses stopping. Blood pooling. Time of death being announced. People leaving. Nurses cleaning up. Hope, love, life, faith, strength, courage, sixteen years are being lost. No. Not now. Not yet. Not this way. Monitor beeps. Chest rises. Eyes open.


	10. Chapter 10

yay

yay! School is finally letting up a little. Not much but a little. Thanks for being patient. As your reward, here's a pretty long chapter. Pls read and review!

Chapter 10(Nathan)

As soon as Nathan parked the car, Haley bolted out of it and ran into the hospital. Nathan got out and followed her. When he walked through the door she was at the desk yelling at the nurse.

"No I'm not family!"

"Well I'm sorry sweetie; we can't tell you where he is unless you're related."

Haley opened her mouth to scream again when Nathan spotted Keith down one of the side hallways. He grabbed Haley's shoulder and steered her head in that direction. When Haley's eyes fixed on Keith, she made a beeline to him. Keith was slumped in one of the chairs that were lining the hallway. His face looked pretty cut up and it was obvious that he'd had stitches on his forehead.

Haley ran over to him and grabbed his shoulder, "Keith!"

Keith looked startled out of whatever revere he'd been in and Nathan could see that his eyes were red. Like he'd been crying.

"Haley…Nate. I'm so sorry. It's all my fault."

Haley gave Keith a brief hug, "I'm sure it's not your fault Keith. How's Lucas?"

Keith shrugged, "He's in surgery. Karen's waiting for him down that next hallway."

Nathan leaned forward, "Why aren't you there Uncle Keith?"

Keith didn't answer. He just shook his head. "If you go down there, turn left and then at the next hallway turn right. That's surgery. Karen should be sitting out front. You should go sit with her. I'm sure she's pretty scared."

Haley nodded and started walking down the hallway. Nathan gave Keith's shoulder a brief squeeze and then followed Haley. It was a little scary to see his Uncle like that. Keith and Nathan had never been close but Nathan had known that Keith loved him. It was another reason that Nathan had always resented Lucas. Keith had been there one hundred percent for Lucas and his mom but Nathan barely got to see him.

He and Haley reached the surgery ward and he saw Karen down the hallway sitting in a chair. It was clear she was crying. Haley ran over to her and immediately wrapped her arms around Karen. Nathan stood by a little awkwardly as Karen sobbed into Haley's shoulder. Finally Haley asked the question that Nathan was anxious to hear.

"Karen will he be ok?"

Karen pulled away from Haley to look her in the eye. "I don't know Haley I really don't know. The car was hit on the passenger side. That's where Luke was sitting. He's been in surgery for about thirty minutes and no one will tell me anything."

Nathan sat down on the other side of Karen. He didn't really know her but having your son in a car wreck had to be hard. He patted her shoulder lightly.

"I'm sure he'll be ok Miss Roe."

Karen looked at him like she was confused for a second but she gave a brief, tired smile. "Thank you Nathan."

Nathan almost jumped out his seat when his cell phone began vibrating in his pocket. He stood up, shot an apologetic look at Haley, and walked a few steps away to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Nathan. Where the hell are you?"

"Brooke?"

"Uhh. Yeah. I'm at P. Sawyer's house. You were supposed to be here an hour ago. Duh. She's pissed as hell."

"So why are YOU calling me?"

"Well she's so mad that she doesn't want to talk to you and she's all like, 'This is it Brooke, Nathan and I are over.' I thought I'd give you a chance to fix it. Like get your ass over here now and start kissing her Converses."

"Yeah, I'm in the middle of something. I don't have time for her little moods"

Brooke's voice got really quiet, "Nathan, I'm serious this time. Worse, she's serious this time. I know you guys break up and hook back up all the time but I think P. Sawyer's reached quitting time for real. She was crying, Nathan but now she's just kind of calm."

Peyton break up with him? Nathan couldn't even begin to ponder it. True they had their ups and downs…mostly downs but they'd been together since…well forever. She had been his first girlfriend and he'd been her first time period. He had to go over there and… Well what about Haley? He couldn't leave her at the hospital. Well, technically he could. Karen or Keith could drive her home and he could just walk away. It's exactly what Haley would expect of him. He was good at walking away and leaving people in a lurch. Everyone knew that.

Brooke's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Nate?"

Nathan glanced back over at Haley. She had her face cradled in her hands and her shoulders were softly shaking.

"Brooke. I can't come. There's been an emergency. I was working on a project with Haley James. You know her?"

"No."

"Sure you do. Hair that's kind of reddish-brown. She always wears a green knitted poncho. Really smart. Works in the tutoring center."

"Oh yeah…So why were you hanging with Tutor Girl?"

"Nothing. Just for school. While we were working she got a phone call from Lucas' mom."

"Lucas like Dan's son Lucas?"

"Yeah, anyway…he's been in a car wreck. He's hurt pretty bad. It's not like he's my favorite guy,Brooke, but he is my brother after all. I gotta stay."

"Ok Nate, I'll tell Peyton. If ever there was an excuse, I think that might be it. I hope he's ok."

"Thanks Brooke. Bye."

Nathan hung up. Peyton would probably forgive him for not being there because of Lucas but did he want her to forgive him. When Brooke had mentioned Peyton breaking up with him, Nathan had looked over at Haley. It had hit him. The same question she'd asked in the car. What if? Sure they were completely different and it would probably never work out. But what if? What if he could talk to her everyday? Hold her? Kiss her? Date her? The thoughts hadn't really impacted his mind until he found out that he and Peyton might finally be over.

He walked back over to Haley and Karen and sat down next to Haley. He wrapped his arm around her shaking shoulders and she leaned into him. A doctor burst through the double doors in front of them. Nathan gulped hard. He looked so serious. Karen stood up abruptly.

"Ms. Roe?"

"Yes. I'm Ms. Roe." Karen's voice was shaking and Nathan could see the worry etched in every fiber of her being.

"Ms. Roe….I'm sorry….We couldn't…." No sooner had the doctor said that, and then Karen screamed and slumped down on the floor. Haley froze in Nathan's arms but then scooted off the chair to join Karen on the floor. Haley wrapped her arms around Karen. Both of the women were sobbing uncontrollably. Haley just kept saying, "No." over and over. Nathan sat in the hard, plastic chair, unbelieving. His brother was dead? An immense sorrow for a relationship that never was hit Nathan. He would never, ever have a chance to get to know Lucas. Tears sprang to his eyes but Nathan brushed them away. He needed to be strong. That's what his dad had taught him. Weakness was a flaw that he couldn't afford. Nathan steeled his face, gritting his teeth. He even forced a bit of a sneer so that his lips wouldn't tremble. Then Nathan felt that tingle again. He looked down. Haley was looking up at him with disgust on her face. He realized how he must look to her. Indifferent. Maybe slightly happy. Haley turned away. That was fine he thought to himself. She doesn't know the consequences of being weak. He couldn't do it. Indifferent was better than actually feeling sad.

Just then a nurse burst through the double doors. She ran up to the doctor and whispered something in his ear. He jumped as if someone had slapped him. Surprise flickered across his face and he looked down at Karen and Haley. Karen must have felt his gaze even through her grief because she looked up.

"Umm. Ms. Roe. Lucas just woke up, apparently. His heart started again. He woke up for a few moments. He even spoke. Right now he's gone into a coma but if there's a slight waking at the beginning he'll more than likely come out of it."

Karen and Haley stood up. Clearly they couldn't believe what they were hearing.

Haley spoke up first, "But you said. You said he was dead."

The doctor shook his head, "I know what I said and trust me it was entirely true as far as I knew. His heart stopped and we tried for five minutes to revive him. Then it took almost ten minutes to clean up and then come tell you. But the nurse that was in there cleaning up the instruments said he just woke up. Rolled over to look at her. Said one word. And then he passed back out. She called in another doctor and he said that Lucas was very much alive, just in a coma."

Karen laughed for sheer joy. "When can I see him? When can I see my boy?"

"Apparently they're already moving him to another room. If you'd like, I'll take you there."

He gestured down the hallway and Karen and Haley started walking. The doctor went to follow them but Nathan grabbed his arm.

"What was the word?"

"You said he spoke one word. What was it?"

"Oh, he said, 'Peyton.' I don't know who that is but that's what he said." The doctor smiled and walked after Karen and Haley. Nathan's fists clenched. Peyton was going to have some explaining to do.


	11. Chapter 11

I know that I haven't had anyone telling the story except Lucas and Nathan so far but I put this chapter in b/c it's valid to see Peyton's reaction

I know that I haven't had anyone telling the story except Lucas and Nathan so far but I put this chapter in b/c it's valid to see Peyton's reaction. Also, its Lucas' turn for a chapter (and he'll get one) but lets face it, he's in a coma so its not 100 entertaining lol. Hope you all are having a great day/night/life 

Chapter 11(Brooke)

Brooke hung up her cell phone and looked down at its pink, sparkly cover. Of course she'd seen Nathan's brother around school, not that she'd ever tell anyone but she thought he was really hot. So was Nathan in fact must be something in the Scott genes. Anyways, Nathan's brother, Lucas. He was hot but she'd never seen him laugh or playing around and let's face it that was what Brooke was all about. In her own head (since she liked to give people nicknames) she'd started calling him Broody because that's all he seemed to do.

Brooke skipped back into P. Sawyer's room to tell her the good news. Nathan hadn't just ignored her and P. could forgive him and they could go back to fighting and making up. Peyton looked up from one of her depressing drawings and turned down her depressing music when she saw Brooke come back.

"What did that asshat say?"

"Actually he was being really sweet about it. There's totally a good reason to forgive him."

"Nathan Scott? Sweet?"

Brooke hopped onto Peyton's bed with her. She pulled the sketchbook from Peyton's hands because she knew how easily P. Sawyer could get distracted about her drawings. She looked down at it. This one was really good…depressing (as always) but good. It showed a girl sitting cross-legged in a dark room with a single light bulb hanging over her head. The shadows had creepy glowing eyes and sharp teeth in them. The girl, who was obviously Peyton, was biting her lip and a tear was sliding down her pale cheek. The caption read: "You're always alone but you never really are." Brooke furrowed her brow (in a way that she figured looked really cute). She got the picture; it was very deep but in order to keep up appearances she looked at Peyton.

"What the hell does this mean?"

Peyton rolled her eyes, "Its like people always leave you alone but then again you always have your demons and problems to keep you company. Get it?"

"Yeah. Jeez, P. Sawyer we need to get you some antidepressants."

Peyton reached her arms around Brooke's shoulders and pulled her tight, "Well that's why I have my daily B. Davis dosage."

Brooke hugged Peyton back and smiled at the fact that she was able to keep her friend at least a little happy. Brooke knew that ever since her mom's death, Peyton had been balancing on the edge of a very dark place. One push seemed to send her into depression but Brooke tried to always be there to pull her back into the light. It was kind of like her and Peyton were one of those Chinese symbols. What were they? Oh yeah yin yang. They balanced each other. She was always there to pull P. Sawyer back and Peyton did the exact same thing for her. They'd been best friends for like ever….well since they were nine but that's close enough to forever.

Peyton shook Brooke's shoulder. "Brooke? Earth to Brooke. What did Nathan say?"

Brooke sat up, excited to tell P. the good news. "Oh yeah. He totally has a good excuse. So you know Lucas right?"

Peyton nodded.

"O.K. well…so Nathan is with Tutor Girl. She's that girl that hangs around the tutor center. She's a tutor…well obviously. I think Nate said her name is Haley. Anyways, they're studying or something. Even though the thought of Nathan studying is weird. Did you know that he came close to failing our English class last year just because he wouldn't read the stupid book? I mean…duh…I hate reading but like it's hard? No, it's totally easy so he should have just…."

"Brooke! Point. Get to it."

Brooke pouted for just a second because P. had interrupted her. "Well like I was saying before I was rudely interrupted." Peyton rolled her eyes. "Nathan and Tutor Girl are hanging out then Lucas' mom calls Tutor Girl Apparently Luke and Tutor Girl are tight. Also, apparently, Luke was in a car accident and had to go to the hospital. So your dashing, handsome boyfriend, overcome with worry for his long-lost sibling is at the hospital. How's that for an excuse? Not like you can be mad now huh?"

Brooke sat back, expecting Peyton to immediately declare her love for Nate and talk about how great it was that he was worried about his brother. Unfortunately Peyton didn't do any of that. She just sat there with this really weird look on her face. It was like a combination of heartbreak, horror, and utter sadness. Brooke tilted her head, trying to place that look. When it came to her she immediately grabbed Peyton and pulled her into a fierce hug. She remembered that look, it'd been on a 9 year old P. Sawyer face but the look hadn't changed. It was the same look that Peyton had after her mom died. Brooke didn't know why she felt that way now but she hugged her anyways, trying to give whatever comfort she could.

Peyton held her close for a few minutes before pulling away. She wiped unshed tears out of her eyes. Brooke leaned forward and pulled a strand of hair out of Peyton's face.

Brooke's voice was soft and caring when she asked, "What was that all about P. Sawyer? What's wrong?"

Peyton shook her head, "I'm just being stupid. It's just….well Brooke is Lucas going to be ok?"

"I don't know P. Did you know him better than I thought or something? Were you guys like friends in class?"

"No, Brooke…its just…yeah I think I knew him better than you thought."

Peyton turned her head away from Brooke, still wiping at her eyes. Peyton's voice was so soft that Brooke barely heard her next sentence. "I think he knew me better too."


	12. Chapter 12

yay

yay! I got a job as a tutor on campus which basically means me sitting around til' someone needs help with their German class and since my University has a really small German program, I get time to just write since no one is coming for help! Good news all around…I get paid while just writing OTH fics and you all get sooner updates!

Chapter 12(Lucas)

This is 3 days after Brooke's previous chapter

Lucas Scott felt like his head was made out of cotton. He struggled to pull his eyelids up so that he could see where he was but he couldn't even do that. It felt like lead was attached to every muscle in his body. Anger gripped him. He should be able to do something as simple as open his eyes. He wasn't a weak person. Filled with a sense of purpose he struggled harder. Finally, he was able to crack both of his eyes. He was in the hospital? Thoughts raced through Luke's head. What had happened? He looked down at his body that was stretched in front of him. Tubes were connecting an IV in his wrist to a machine next to the bed. Lucas looked over and saw Karen sleeping in a bulky chair near the window.

He struggled to make a sound. He wanted nothing but his mom right now. He was back to being five years old and needing that comfort. He wanted her to tell him what had happened but more importantly, he wanted her to say that everything was going to be ok.

"M….Mmmom." Lucas finally gasped the words out. His throat was dry. He needed water. Karen started and her eyes flickered over to him. She rushed to his side, her eyes filling with tears. She wrapped him in a big hug.

"I thought I was going to lose you." Her voice cracked and she held Luke all the tighter. He managed to move one of his arms. He wrapped it around her, pulling her close.

"I'm not going anywhere, Mom."

"How long was I out?"

"Three days."

She pulled away and stared at his face like she was memorizing it. She must have seen that he needed water because she took a cup from the bedside and poured some gently into his mouth.

Lucas had a thought and suddenly was filled with concern, "Mom, is Keith ok?"

Karen nodded and Lucas let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah, sweetie, he's fine. The car got hit on your side, so we were the most worried about you. Keith only had a few scratches."

"I suppose I should call him and let him know that you're awake." Karen left Luke's bedside and got her cell phone out of her purse.

While she was dialing Lucas asked, "Why isn't he here?" Luke knew Keith loved him like a son. Normally Luke would have expected him to be waiting for Lucas to open his eyes.

Karen shook her head, "I don't know sweetie." Keith must have picked up then because she switched to saying, "Hey Keith…..Yeah, Guess what?...Luke is awake…Yeah! I know. I'm so happy….He wants to see you….Ok…Sounds great."

She turned back to Lucas. "He's coming right now, actually. As soon as he heard you were up he said that he was going to get in his car and come right over."

Karen left to go get a doctor and after endless check ups the nurses and doctors eventually left Lucas alone. They'd removed his IV and brought him some Jello so he could get some "real" food. Lucas was just digging into the dish filled with red Jello when Keith walked in. Keith looked haggard at best. He looked as if he hadn't shaved in days and there were dark circles under his eyes. He hung in the doorway and didn't come all the way in. Lucas put down his bowl but didn't say anything. Something was wrong. When Luke looked up at Keith, he could tell that he'd been crying. His eyes were red and puffy. Luke was really worried now. He'd known Keith his whole life and he'd never seen him cry.

"Hey, Luke." Keith voice seemed to growl out of his chest and the foreign sound startled Lucas.

Keith stepped further into the room and came to sit next to Lucas' bed. Once there he kind of slumped down and seemed to shrink. He bowed his head, almost like he was praying. Lucas didn't know what to do. He gently placed his hand on top of Keith's unkempt hair. Keith lifted his head suddenly, startling Luke.

With tears in his eyes again Keith murmured, "I was so worried about you. If anything had happened to you, it would have been my fault. I've never had kids of my own but you are my son…do you understand me? You're like my own flesh and blood. You and your mom are my family and I promised myself that I'd protect you and then I go and make the biggest mistake of all, I almost lost you."

Luke awkwardly patted Keith's hand. Keith wasn't for big speeches but Lucas had known that he was loved. "It's ok Keith. I'm ok. You're ok. We're all going to be ok. And it's not your fault. Mom told me the other guy ran a red light. It's totally not your fault."

Keith shook his head and sprang from the chair next to the bed. The movement startled Lucas because it came from this tired-seeming Keith. Keith agitatedly paced at the end of Luke's bed.

"Luke, you don't understand. I'm trying to tell you something here."

"Ok Keith so tell me."

Keith threw himself back down in the chair and leaned forward looking deep into Lucas' eyes, as if willing him to listen.

"You're Dan's kid and with that comes certain…privileges."

"Oooookay…Keith, I'm not following."

"How did you feel in the café when you broke that cup, just by holding it?"

Stunned by the abrupt topic change, Lucas hesitated, "I don't know really. I was mad, I remember that. Keith, what does this have to do with anything?"

"Everything! God, Luke. I should have told you this a long time ago. I should have told you about it and I should have helped you understand it. Instead, like an idiot I ignored it and just hoped it would go away."

"Keith?"

"You have a gift, Luke. You're special. Dan is. I am too. I think it's safe to assume Nathan is too."

"I don't understand what you're talking about."

"We have powers. Like in the movies. We have superpowers…God! That sounds so crazy, said out loud but it's true. It's the god-awful truth."

Lucas leaned away from Keith a little. He'd been going through a hard time. The stress had probably gotten too him. Luke should just focus on calming Keith down and getting his mom in here. Karen would know what to do.

"Okay Keith. That sounds fun. Why don't we ask my mom to come in here and she can talk with us. That'll be nice, won't it?"

"Damn it Luke! Don't patronize me! Look!"

With that Keith jumped out of the chair. He walked over to the folding table that Luke's mom had been eating off of. He brought it back over to the bed and shoved it in Luke's face.

"Here! Feel that! It's real metal, really strong, right?" His eyes were frantic and Lucas for one second was scared of him.

He reached out touched the table's legs. "Yeah, Keith, it's metal, ok? It's strong."

Keith nodded and stepped away from the bed. He took the end of the table and bent it straight around so that it was touching the other side. Keith made it look like he was bending a straw. Luke's mouth hung open; Keith was strong but….that strong?

Keith bent the table back to its original position, even though the metal looked a little warped now.

"Luke, that's what I can do...actually I can do a lot more. I'm really, really strong. When we got into the wreck, that other car was crushing in on your side. I picked up the other car in order to get to you. The other driver was unconscious so he didn't see me but I picked up his car. Moved it. Then I came back and ripped my Jeep's door off to get to you. That's what I can do."

Lucas' mind was moving a mile a minute. This was impossible. Keith would never lie to him…but this? It was crazy. Which meant Keith was crazy. The thing with the table had to be like a magic trick or something. He'd seen magicians on T.V. do stuff like that all the time.

Gently he said, "Keith I love you but this is crazy. You don't have superpowers and neither do I. In an emergency, people all the time show amazing feats of strength. It's adrenaline. You probably just pushed the car and moved it because you were so freaked out."

Keith ran his fingers through his hair. "Luke, you have to believe me. I don't know what your power is. The reason I felt so guilty about the wreck is because I didn't work with you and help you develop your power. If you're power had been something that could've saved you, like healing, then I would have been to blame."

"Like healing?"

Keith swallowed hard, "That's what Danny's power is."

"But he had a knee injury that kept him from playing pro basketball. That's a sucky healing power."

"No our Dad made him quit. Dad had powers too. He helped both Dan and I to develop our powers but it was suspicious with Dan playing basketball. Every time Dan would get hurt by a fall or another player getting in a dirty shot, he wouldn't get hurt. I mean, he would get hurt but right away, he was better again. Dad let him play in high school but when he got to college, Dad decided that it was time to stop. If Danny fell in a way that was supposed to seriously hurt him and a T.V. camera caught it. People would really start to wonder. So he faked a knee injury to get out of it."

Lucas shook his head. "Keith this sounds like something you've thought about a lot. I'm not a psychiatrist but I think that you need to see someone."

Keith began to speak again but Lucas interrupted him, "No, I'm can not and will not believe this crazy story. I'm sorry to be harsh but I've been through a rough time lately and right now, I'm just trying to heal. I love you but I'd like you to go for now."

Keith got a hurt look over his face and Luke longed to take back his words but they were already out there. Keith turned his back to Luke and began to walk towards the door. Once there he turned around.

"Luke, even if you don't believe me now, you will soon. In the meantime, you can't tell anyone about this little discussion, ok? You have to promise me."

Lucas took pity on his uncle and right now he'd say anything to get Keith out of the room, "Ok, I promise."

Keith stared at him for a few minutes as if he was trying to decide whether or not to trust him. He must have seen something he liked because he nodded and walked through the door, closing it behind him.

Lucas took a deep breath. That had been really weird. Luke reached down and pinched himself. Jesus! That had hurt a lot more than it should have. Lucas looked down at his arm and saw deep finger prints where he'd pinched and the skin was turning a deep purply-blue.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13(Nathan)

Chapter 13(Nathan)

Nathan's harsh alarm woke him from a very confusing dream. Peyton had been pulling on one arm, telling him that she loved him and Haley had been pulling on the other, telling him the same thing. Nathan had turned towards Haley for a minute and when he turned back to Peyton, she'd let go of his arm and was busy making out with Lucas, who'd just suddenly appeared.

Nathan shook his head, trying to get the images out of his mind. He still hadn't talked to Peyton or Haley. On Thursday, when he and Haley had gone to the hospital, it seemed like everything had changed. Now it was Sunday and school was tomorrow. He'd eventually have to deal with Haley and Peyton some time.

As soon as his mind was off his romantic relationship he realized…Dan's home. He could feel his father's presence practically roiling throughout the entire house. He bolted out of bed and ran down the stairs. He needed to talk with Dan about Lucas; he'd know what to do.

Dan was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and reading a newspaper.

He looked over the top of the newspaper, "I've been waiting for you to get up. It's nearly ten o' clock. That's lazy, Nathan. We've got work to do."

Nathan glanced up, surprised, "Are you sure you're up for it, Dad? Draining usually leaves you pretty weak."

Dan opened his palm and a ball of flame flickered to life in its center. "Do I look weak to you?"

Nathan got confused, "But the last person I detected was a telepath."

Dan closed his hand, putting out the flame. He took another sip of his coffee, "I didn't take him."

"Why not?"

"He was very weak. That's your job to make sure you don't send me after little fish you know. I only want to take the big ones. But its not all bad, I brought him back with me, he's agreed to…help out."

Nathan shrugged, "I'm sorry, Dad. I've got a lot on my mind lately with school, Peyton, and…."

Dan looked up sharply, "Weak people make weak excuses."

No matter how many times Dan corrected him with little quotes like that, it still burned. Nathan nodded, "I do have something to report. I was going to check it out this morning before you got home but here you are."

"What?"

Nathan stepped forward, placing his hands flat down on the counter, "Lucas got into a car accident. He was really, really hurt. I felt him early this morning. He's awake."

Dan looked like a kid in a candy store, "Really? What's his power?"

Nathan stepped away from the counter. He closed his eyes. People's faces flashed by in his minds eye, their colors blurred and unfocused. Finally he got to Lucas. He stopped and circled around him. His face was sharp and clear. Nathan's mind pulled closer to him and tried to feel inside his powers. What were they? Suddenly a sharp piercing ring entered both of his ears. It felt like Nathan's mind was going to turn to mush and run out both his ears. Lucas turned around and suddenly looked at "Nathan". Nathan gasped in surprise and hurt. He pulled back into himself.

Coming out of his trance, Nathan stood gasping in his kitchen, trying to get the piercing ring tone out of his ears. In a few seconds it had died down and he was able to actually form cohesive thoughts.

Dan was still sitting at the kitchen table, studying Nathan as if he were a rat in a maze.

Nathan pulled a chair away from the counter, feeling the need to suddenly sit down. His legs were weak and wobbly.

Dan quirked an eyebrow at him, "Well? I'm guessing that you didn't get it."

Nathan panted, "No…I don't know what happened."

Dan tossed down his newspaper, "Must I do everything myself? The weakest link breaks the chain, Nathan." He got up and walked out of the room.

Nathan sat at the counter, trying to catch his breath. For the first time, he'd failed to do his job. His job was to look up people with powers and to find out what powers they had. That was his ability and that's what he should've been able to do with Lucas. But something hadn't gone right. Lucas showed he had powers but when Nathan had tried to figure out what they were, something was blocking him.

What if it wasn't Lucas? What if his powers were fading or something? Dan hadn't told him if that could happen or not. If Nathan became useless to Dan…would Dan drain him? That thought had haunted Nathan ever since he and his father had started this little operation. Nathan found the supers and Dan drained whatever power they had in them. The problem with that was, the supers usually died after having their powers drained from them. The only reason Dan didn't die was because he had healing powers through the roof. After he took their powers, his body would try to reject them and it would attack the genes as if they were a disease inside him. It always left Dan really weak for a week or so.

The thought made Nathan shudder. Dan was a bad person but still he was Nathan's father. Would he…could he kill his own son?


	14. Chapter 14

*Hey people who are reading this

*Hey people who are reading this! Is everything making sense so far? Should I continue this fic? I promise we're getting to the action…its just if its going to make sense, I have to set it up first…so what do you all think? Continue? Or not? That is the question.*

Chapter 14(Dan)

Dan walked into Lucas' hospital room without knocking first. Karen looked up from the book she was reading and jumped up, clearly angry. Dan gazed over at his bastard son who was asleep in the bed. Karen grabbed Dan's arm and tried to push him out of the room. Dan allowed her to lead him away.

Karen's voice was hushed but still filled with rage when she said, "How dare you? You don't come around when he almost dies but now that he's getting released tomorrow, you show? You don't care at all!"

Dan smirked at her, "He's still my son, Karen. True, he's not my favorite but that doesn't change the fact that he's mine."

Karen's palm smacked Dan full across the cheek, almost before he'd finished talking. He let it. A red hand print showed up for a second but it faded quickly.

Karen was apparently too angry to notice the redness fading. She just turned back towards Luke's room, "Just stay away, Dan. The best thing you've ever done, even though you meant it for bad, was to leave Lucas and me. So go on and do what you do best…walk away."

He shook his head, "Look, we never established custody. The last thing you want on yourself right now is a messy fight in court with my lawyers. The only thing I want is to see him, isn't that better than me owning him?"

Karen scoffed, "As if any judge in the world would ever give Lucas to you!"

Dan smiled, "Well you don't have my money, my lawyers, or the respect I command in this community. Plus, I think we both know I'm very persuasive when I want to be. It got me up your skirts back in the day didn't it?"

Karen swung her hand again but Dan reached out and easily grabbed it before she could hit him, "Karen, I gave you a free one…after that you're going to have to pay."

Karen struggled to pull her hand out of his grasp but he held on easily. After a second of proving that he was letting her go because he wanted to, he released her.

She glared at him with all the hate of sixteen years behind her eyes. She stepped aside and motioned to Lucas' room. Dan started to step towards it but her voice interrupted him, "I swear to God, Dan. I will protect my boy with my life and if you ever try and take him away from me, I'll do whatever it takes to keep him. Do you understand?"

Noticing the murderous look in Karen's eyes, Dan merely nodded. He stepped into Lucas' room and Karen stood out in the hallway, fearing that Dan might put a poisonous finger of evil on her son.

Dan walked over to Lucas' bed. Lucas' eyes fluttered open, "Dan?"

Dan stood over Lucas, not answering his unspoken question. He simply looked down at the cast on Lucas' broken arm and leg.

Lucas propped himself up on his remaining good arm. "Dan, what are you doing here? Where's my mom?"

Dan reached down and firmly pushed Lucas back down onto the bed, "Be quiet, Lucas."

Lucas grabbed Dan's hand with a very firm grip. His voice was dangerously quiet, "Don't touch me, Dan."

Lucas squeezed Dan's hand until he saw a grimace of pain in Dan's eyes and he heard a snap, then he let go. Dan pulled his hand away. Lucas was surprised to see that Dan's hand looked broken. Lucas started to mumble apologies. What he really that strong? But Dan held up his other hand to silence Lucas.

Slowly before Lucas' eyes, Dan held out his hand and each of the fingers began to magically straighten themselves. Then Dan flexed his hand quickly. It was perfectly normal.

Lucas felt as if someone had hit him in the stomach with a sledgehammer. This was what Keith had been talking about! It was all true! Lucas shook his head, no it couldn't be true. He had to be dreaming.

"Lucas, look at me." Dan's voice forced Lucas from his thoughts. He forced himself to look up at the man that had abandoned him.

Dan shook his head, "So you inherited the same power as your Uncle Keith? Well, that's not much but I can work with it. Luckily for you I'm already strong myself. I don't necessarily need you but you are family after all, however accidental you may have been."

Lucas' cheeks burned as Dan referred to him as an accident but he forced himself to keep on listening.

"I'd like to give you a chance to join Nathan and me. I pay my workers well and I take good care of them." Dan snapped his fingers and a flame appeared in the palm of his hand. Lucas' eyes widened until he felt they might pop out. This couldn't be a dream. He could feel the heat of the flame that Dan was producing, could see its light flicker in the darker corners of the room. Dreams were never that detailed.

Dan smiled at Lucas' awe, "I've been granted many talents. I'm willing to guide you, to teach you, and to provide for you all the power in the world. I only as one thing…join me."

Lucas snapped to attention. Join Dan? He almost busted out laughing. Hell would have to freeze over before that would happen.

Dan must have seen the look on Lucas' face because his face clouded over and for an instant Lucas was afraid of the evil he could see inside his father. Dan reached down and squeezed Lucas' injured shoulder. Despite himself, Lucas gave a whimper of pain.

Dan smiled, "I can make things better for you, Lucas. But I can make them so much worse, too. I'm not without mercy though. I'll give you three days to make the right decision."

Dan turned to leave the room and Lucas managed to gasp out, "And if I refuse? I'm not scared of you."

Dan turned an evil smile on his face, "What about the people you love? They would be afraid of me, wouldn't they? Lets see…"

Lucas felt as if something were pushing in on his thoughts, like fingers were rifling through his brain. He tried to push it out but he couldn't.

Dan chuckled, "Karen, or course, Keith. Oh and lets not forget your best friend, Haley. And who's this? Peyton? Of course, the lovely Peyton."

Lucas felt an extreme relief in pressure and he almost sobbed. Whatever had been raiding his brain was gone.

Dan turned back around showing Lucas his back but Lucas still heard his voice, "They'll be dead Lucas, if you refuse me. I promise you that."

With that he left Lucas' room. He left Lucas gasping and feeling like he had to throw up.


End file.
